Question |
| Asked by: |
James Roberts |
| Subject: |
Gyro-stabilized monorail system |
| Question: |
Has anyone participating in this forum ever have any sucess iin building a gyro-stabilized monorail car or a two-wheeled vehicle? Has anyone ever experimented with gyro-stabilization of cars or monorails? What does this forum think about a gyro-stabilized monorail system that is designed to ride on a single-rail vs a bi-rail system |
| Date: |
15 February 2007
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Answers (Ordered by Date)
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| Answer: |
webmaster - 07/03/2007 16:28:16
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| | I've had limited success for a two wheeled vehicle. I know what is wrong and need to improve it.
You need to have a feedback system in order for it to work correct. This can be mechincally or via a sensor.
They do have there uses, but only practial in some cases. Great for messing around with robots and things like that.
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| Answer: |
Glenn Hawkins - 02/05/2007 19:40:22
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| | Try this James. http://catskillarchive.com/rrextra/odgyro.Html
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webmaster - 02/05/2007 20:01:54
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| | Just to let you know that I'm including a section in my book on gyroscopes about this. I plan to make a one or two gyro-stabilised platforms.
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| Answer: |
James Roberts - 05/05/2007 06:33:10
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| | Webmaster
Would like to speak to you about a monorail we are trying to build. We could probalby use your experience. Could you furnish me your phone number?
Thank you
J.Roberts
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webmaster - 05/05/2007 11:52:44
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| | Sure,
01452 54 90 45
Internatioanl +44 (0)1452 54 90 45
There is a answerphone if I'm not about.
BTW: My names Glenn Turner (just in case you didn't know).
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Sandy Kidd - 10/05/2007 15:31:30
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| | Guys,
If you do a search on one Louis Brennan, you will discover that he had the whole thing pretty well sorted in1905, without the need for any electronic interface.
The only real problem he had, was the fact that a monorail train would require a stabilisation unit and a power source, in each carriage (for rather obvious reasons). That requirement sort of finished off his monorail train, but for a single unit like a car or a boat I can see tremendous advantages.
Sandy Kidd
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| Answer: |
Glenn Hawkins - 13/05/2007 11:10:34
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| | Hi James, I prefer to answer you on this site.
I may have something for you. But first, the monitorial works, yet it has been ignored as a transportation method for one hundred and two years. One can guess at a reason. A human’s sense of gravity and balance quite naturally opposes the monitorial, particularly in the area of a safety element. Suppose with all good safety factors added the gyros still fowled up. You’d have a train wreck. While on the other hand two tracks work just fine and if any part of the train stops working the train just sets on the rails and doesn’t tip over. Now you don’t need to convince me of this and that. My point is that the monitorial was never developed and will continue to be opposed in some area, because of a natural human perception and a proclivity for perceiving balance by either two, or four legs, or wheels. That is your opposition—human perception of the masses.
This is what I may have for you. There are amusement parks all over the world and those that have the wildest rides have the greatest attractions. A monorail roller coaster would be the wildest of all. If you can build a safety system in a monorail roller coaster then trill seekers and those that favor the unique would desire it. The extra expense and weight would be the only thing that might keep an amusement park from buying and building a monitorial roller coaster. Otherwise they would very much want one. With a couple of such as these operating you might then attract serious interest from commercial train systems.
I personally don’t think much of this old, old idea, but there you have it as I see it.
You ask about my stabilizing platforms in space. It is very simple though I‘m not sure it’s understood. In order to have static and dynamic balance is space wherein motion is occurring such as reversing gyros on platforms, one must install four electric main drive motors to drive four gyros, the force and motion of each gyro and motor acting and reacting in timed sequences against all forces to form a perfect balance of equal and opposites. So simple it is.
Good Luck,
Glenn
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Webmaster - 13/05/2007 11:57:16
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| | I disagree with Hawkins comments. I don't think safety was the issue. Cost was. It was proposed that one rail was cheaper than one. Yes it was. It wouldn't half the track laying costs but it would get close to getting to half. Don't forget, you needn't worry about keep the to rails level. However the engine building costs jumped up. So it was only viable where long hilly/complex routes where planned. However, this came on the market when most of existing tracks had already been layed.
As far as I'm aware the monorail system had a fail safe system so if all the gyros fails in each carriage (very unlikely) It would just lean over.
I think the technology is very important for use in other areas.
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Glenn Hawkins - 13/05/2007 23:54:15
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| | Then why is the 104 year old technology unused? I reassert that the general public has a fear in the perception of it’s safety. This is not to say I, you, or others here have this problem. You tell me why the technology has not been used any where in the world in one hundred years! I’ll tell you why again. The general public fears it. Otherwise, aside from the expense why is not this magnificent technology not used? Explain please.
Glenn,
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webmaster - 14/05/2007 00:22:58
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| | Some people will always fear technology. Some people don't like flying. Others don't like trains. I just don't think this is the reason why this technology was not used. The problem was more practical than that. In fact lots of people wouldn't get on the first trains.
One of the things I want to do is write a book on things that science forgot. There are
hundreds of things that are just used and forgotten about.
Consider this: Fluorescent tubes were invented shortly after the incandescent bulb, before incandescent bulbs were fited to every home. So why are we just getting rid of the incandescent bulbs in our homes? Both technologys are good. Fluorescent tubes (or rather the transformers) were more complex than incandescent bulbs one hundred years ago.
You also have to consider the time in which this the monorail technology was created.
The gyrocar (developed from the monorail system) was buried in the first world war for
fear of being captured.
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Glenn Hawkins - 15/05/2007 02:39:40
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| | Webmaster, much good luck with you book. I will be one of the first buyers.
Glenn,
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Glenn Hawkins - 16/05/2007 23:31:30
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| | Dear James & Webmaster,
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5820439-claims.html
This is a Patten for a toy motorcycle, which appears to uses the same, or similar technology as the monorail. I post this in hopes you may be encouraged to find a modern application of the technology you would revise for the use of a train. Best wishes.
Glenn,
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| Answer: |
James Roberts - 18/05/2007 02:43:22
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| | Gemtleman
You all are right/ A monorail system designed to ride on a single-rail vs a bi-rail system
would pose a problem with ridershio among people who favor train travel. Face it we live in a four-wheeled world and it is going to be hard to find interest in this new technology, but I believe we can crack that mindset.
Our monorail system has several safety features that would deploy, if the gyro would ceae to function-of course i will not divulge those features.
More later
James Roberts
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webmaster - 18/05/2007 03:03:51
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| | Hi James,
Just done a bit of research on the web. I guessing you must be the same James Roberts of Swinney-Ferreira Gyro Dynamics, Inc. Correct?
I found some of the safety systems (older disclosed????) you had talked about on the web. I guessing that you have more now. Is the company still active? Does Swinney-Ferreira Gyro Dynamics inc have a website? Has there been any recent installations of the system?
Glenn Turner
Webmaster
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James Roberts - 25/05/2007 20:48:56
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| | Gentleman
I appreciate all your comments about our gyro-monorail, which I believe can be a significant contribution toward future tranporattion in this country and around the world. We have our team of engineers ready to go once we can obtain some funding. All we are trying to do at this point is develop a showpiece of the technology (nothing fancy) along with some good marketing, we should able to obtain substantail furture funding. We are just trying to validate this technology and we have recieved interest.
About our website if you look under "The Monorail Society" webpage under gyro-monorail you will find our website along with an executive summary of the gyro-system from Louis Swinney who recently passed-away.
Yes, our company SwinneyFerriera Gyro Dynamics is being reorganized and I am the
Vice-President.
Your thoughts and wisdom, please
J.Roberts
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| Answer: |
Don Kirk - 22/08/2007 01:09:24
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| | Our museum has a Von Roll demo front-unit; nad is working to get the remaining Gyro Monorail unit in Kansas City, Kansas. I'm about to move the museum to the Shasta/Tehama Counties portion of far Northern California and would be willing to let serious volunteers work to make them operational.
I'm in Redding at the moment for an Oct 15th hip replacement; and to look for a site to move the museum to. If you are in that area and would like to work on the project, please contact me. The Von Roll can be seen on our website's homepage. http://osrm.org
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Ron V. Parsons - 25/10/2007 03:46:32
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| | I am interested in seeing if the Swinney/Ferreira technology could be reasonably adapted to keeping a motorcycle upright. Where can I find a description or analysis of how the gryroscopic stabilization system worked?
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Darren Swinney - 30/08/2015 19:52:23
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| | I have the design for a gravitation powered motor for home usage only, not safe in an automobile. This motor will have fewer moving parts and will in fact increase in speed over short periods of time. My Grandfather Louis E Swinney gave me this idea while being his errand boy and delivery person ,anything else he needed to get done. He had no part in what I ended up coming up with ,but he did give me a true reason for trying to make it .Me and my good friend ended up going to the gravitational motor after thinking about the bad potentially bad possibilities of my first idea the hydrogen motor splitting water down by an alternator into hydrogen and oxygen ,The thought of what would happen if one of the holding containers was sheared open by a car wreck or electrical shock. I am sorry about the grammar and the poor sentence and paragraph arrangement for this is a spur of the moment thought to write you since you and Wesley Neal are the only members left to my grandfathers inventions and ideas just to tell you of my time being disabled and time to think about my grandfathers 1st goal perpetual motors .But not really it is powered by what Sir Issaic Newton would call gravity ,and i call it a gravitational motor which everyone is trying to figure, Like I said I grew up with Louis E Swinney as my grandfather and around all his idea even those no one knows about ,but me because he would force me to listen to him on every letterhead he sent out to you and the investors. So I have only learned from what he could tell me and the wonderful world of wikipedia and the ease of information over the internet and television . Witch is all I do and have mostly been able to do over the internet. Just a little bit of information from me to you to see what the next generation has been thinking. Thank you for your time please respond even if not interested in more, wont hurt my feelings.
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